Medina

Overview

Medina is a city-building game set in 1822 where players rebuild the medina at the foot of the Atlas mountains. On each turn, players place exactly two wooden components (buildings, rooftops, stables, merchants, or walls) onto the board. Players construct palaces of four colors by adding buildings to them, then claim palaces by placing a rooftop. The game ends when all players have used all their components. The player who scores the most points from their claimed palaces, adjacent features, and tower tiles wins.

Components

• 1 game board (double-sided: one side for 2 players/10x14 squares, one side for 3-4 players/11x16 squares)
• 80 buildings: 20 in each of 4 colors (orange, brown, grey, purple)
• 16 rooftops: 4 in each of 4 player colors
• 12 stables (neutral)
• 31 merchants (neutral)
• 36 walls (neutral)
• 4 towers (neutral)
• 1 well
• 4 tower tiles
• 4 palace tiles
• 6 tea tiles
• 4 player screens (one per player color)
• 1 score block

Setup

1. Place the board in the middle of the table (use the appropriate side for the player count).
2. Place the four white towers on the four corners of the city wall. Place the four tower tiles next to the corresponding towers.
3. Place the well on a random space inside the city, at least one space from the wall.
4. Place three merchants on the tower tile with number 1, two merchants on number 2, and one merchant on number 3.
5. Place one merchant on a random space inside the city, at least one space from the wall.
6. Place the four palace tiles in a row on the top space on the game board.
7. Place the six tea tiles in a stack face up next on the top left space on the game board.
8. Choose a starting player.

Player Setup by Count

Players	Buildings per color	Rooftops	Stables	Merchants	Walls
2	8 (32 total)	4	4	12	15
3	6 (24 total)	4	4	8	12
4	5 (20 total)	4	3	6	9

In a 3-player game, each player additionally receives 2 rooftops in a third (neutral) color.

Players keep components hidden behind their player screens, except rooftops which are placed in front of screens.

Turn Structure

The starting player begins. After taking a turn, the next player clockwise takes their turn.

On your turn, place exactly two of your wooden components (building, rooftop, stable, merchant, or wall) on any empty space on the board. The two pieces can be of any type (same or different) and of any color (same or different).

Exception: In a 2-player game, the starting player places only one component on their first turn. In a 3 or 4-player game, the first two players each place only one component on their first turn.

Actions

Buildings

• Buildings are used to construct palaces.
• A palace consists of buildings of the same color (and stables).
• A palace has no owner as long as it has no rooftop.
• The first building of a color can be placed on any empty space. After that, you can only start a new palace if all palaces of that color already have a rooftop, or if palaces of that color cannot be expanded.
• If a palace of the same color without a rooftop exists, any player placing a building of that color must build adjacent (orthogonally) to that palace.
• Two palaces must always be separated from each other. The minimum distance is one empty space (both orthogonally and diagonally).
• Once a player claims a palace (places a rooftop), no more buildings can be added to that palace.
• A building cannot be placed on the wall spaces.

Rooftops

• Placing a rooftop claims a palace. Place it on top of a palace to claim ownership. The palace has reached its final size.
• Each player has four rooftops and can claim four palaces during the game, one in each of the four building colors.
• 2 or 3-player game: Each player also has one or two rooftops in a neutral color. A neutral rooftop on a palace counts as the same action as claiming it, but the tea tiles are yielded and removed.
• Important: Rooftops in a neutral color can be placed on any palace. It is allowed to place a neutral rooftop on a grey palace even if there is already a neutral rooftop on another grey palace.
• When all players have claimed a palace in the same color, no more buildings of that color can be built. All remaining buildings of that color are returned to the box.

Stables

• A stable can only be built directly adjacent to a building (orthogonal).
• A stable can be placed adjacent to a palace with or without a rooftop.
• When building a stable, there must be at least one empty space between the stable and any neighboring palace.
• Stables can be added to any palace (regardless of who owns it).
• Players who do not build their stables in time may be forced to build stables adjacent to palaces belonging to other players.

Merchants

• Merchants represent markets in the city.
• At the start, one merchant is placed on any space on the board.
• Merchants must be placed orthogonally adjacent to a merchant already present on the board.
• Newly placed merchants are always adjacent to one merchant at the beginning or at the end of the market street.
• A merchant may never be adjacent to two other merchants.
• When the market street has a dead end at one side, merchants can only be added at the other side.
• If it is impossible to add merchants on both sides, the active player can place a new merchant on any free space and a new market street comes into existence.
• Each merchant adjacent to a palace increases the value of that palace by one point.

Walls

• Walls protect the city.
• Walls are built on the wall spaces surrounding the city. At each side of the wall, there will be a free space for the gate to enter the city.
• All walls must start adjacent to a tower. A player building a wall needs to build it adjacent to one of the four towers or adjacent to an existing wall.
• Walls originating from two different towers must always be separated from each other by at least one free space (called a gate).
• The last space between two walls must remain vacant.
• Each wall adjacent to a palace increases the value of that palace by one point.

Tea Tiles

• When a player takes possession of a purple palace, they receive tea tiles.
• First player to claim a purple palace: 3 tea tiles
• Second player: 2 tea tiles
• Third player: 1 tea tile
• Fourth player: 0 tea tiles

Palace Tiles

• The first player to take possession of a palace in a certain color receives the palace tile in that color. They keep this until another player takes possession of a larger palace in this color, or enlarges a palace with a stable to create a larger palace. The tile then transfers.
• The size of a palace is determined by the number of palace pieces and attached stables.
• Players holding a palace tile at the end of the game score the points indicated on the tile.

Tower Tiles

• If a player takes possession of a palace directly adjacent to a wall connected to a tower, they become the watcher of that tower and take the corresponding tower tile.
• If the tower tile has merchants on it, the player places them behind their player screen.
• If later another player takes possession of a palace also adjacent to a wall originating from that tower, that player becomes the new watcher and takes the tower tile (but not any merchants on the tile).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Each player writes down points in the scoring block.

Palace scoring:

1. Each building in the palace: 1 point
2. Each stable connected to the palace: 1 point
3. Each wall directly bordering the palace or a stable of the palace: 1 point
4. Each merchant directly adjacent to a building or stable in the palace: 1 point
5. Each tower and palace tile the player holds: 1-4 points (as indicated)
6. Each building or stable that is separated from the well by only one orthogonal space: 4 additional victory points

The player with the highest total points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A player always has to place two wooden components (except the first turn restrictions).
• Instead of placing two wooden components, the player may place one wooden component and return one tea tile to the box. A player always has to place a minimum of one wooden component.
• Tea tiles score no points at the end of the game.
• It frequently happens a player does not want to place two wooden components for fear of benefiting other players. In such a case, a player can call for a tea break, provided they have tea tiles at their disposal.
• Palaces that are separated from the well by only one orthogonal space yield 4 additional victory points at the end of the game.
• On the red spaces around the well, no buildings or stables can be placed; merchants are allowed on these spaces.
• Buildings or stables on the yellow spaces surrounding the well score additional points at the end of the game.
• The game ends when all players have used all their components.
• 2 or 3-player game strategy hint: It can be very advantageous for the last player remaining in the game to build a few more merchants or wall sections.

Player Reference

Action	Rule
Place a building	Adjacent to existing unclaimed palace of that color, or new location if all palaces of that color are claimed
Place a rooftop	On any unclaimed palace to claim it; one palace per color per player
Place a stable	Adjacent to a building; one empty space from neighboring palaces
Place a merchant	Adjacent to end of existing merchant row, or start new row if both ends blocked
Place a wall	Adjacent to tower or existing wall; gate space must remain between wall sections

Scoring per palace: buildings + stables + adjacent walls + adjacent merchants + tile bonuses + well bonus (4 pts if one space away)